Kate's Golden Globes

At last, Kate Winslet has won not just one, but two Golden Globe awards (after being nominated five times previously). This sets her up for a good chance of winning her first Oscar.

It reminds me of her parody of herself in Ricky Gervais' Extras where she says the only reason she's doing the role as a nun saving Jews from the Nazi's is because it's the kind of role that gets the awards. It's ironic that she won a Globe for playing an ex-Nazi prison officer. Maybe that's what made her chose the role.

Congratulations to Slumdog Millionaire too, I must see that, along with The Wrestler. I must also mention the late Heath Ledger too, he must win the Oscar for his portrayal of the Joker.

So the Golden Globes is the first big ceremony of the awards season. Here are the winners:

MOTION PICTURES:

• Picture, Drama: "Slumdog Millionaire."
• Picture, Musical or Comedy: "Vicky Christina Barcelona."
• Actor, Drama: Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler."
• Kate Winslet, "Revolutionary Road."
• Director: Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire."
• Actor, Musical or Comedy: Colin Farrell, "In Bruges."
• Actress, Musical or Comedy: Sally Hawkins, "Happy-Go-Lucky."
• Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight."
• Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet, "The Reader."
• Foreign Language Film: "Waltz With Bashir."
• Animated Film: "Wall-E."
• Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire."
• Original Score: A.R. Rahman, "Slumdog Millionaire."
• Original Song: "The Wrestler" (performed by Bruce Springsteen, written by Bruce Springsteen), - The Wrestler."
  

TELEVISION:

• Series, Drama: "Mad Men."
• Actor, Drama: Gabriel Byrne, "In Treatment."
• Actress, Drama: Anna Paquin, "True Blood."
• Series, Musical or Comedy: "30 Rock."
• Actor, Musical or Comedy: Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock."
• Actress, Musical or Comedy: Tina Fey, "30 Rock."
• Miniseries or Movie: "John Adams."
• Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Laura Linney, "John Adams."
• Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Paul Giammatti, "John Adams."
• Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Laura Dern, "Recount."
• Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Tom Wilkinson, "John Adams."
• Cecil B. DeMille Award: Steven Spielberg

Tribute to Oliver Postgate

The genius that was Oliver Postgate died today.



Anyone my age or older will know the creator of some of the best loved children's television programmes ever made, Bagpuss and The Clangers being favourites of mine. In this Nintendo age Postgate's programmes were a very different affairs to the fast edit, flashy efforts of today. His career in television started in the 1950's, working for both the BBC and ITV. They mainly were made in a barn by Smallfilms, the company he set up with Peter Firmin.

His shows were a lot gentler and story based than that of modern programmes. Here's a list of his work, which he not only created but often directed, produced, voiced and even physically made the characters and sets:

• Pinny's House (1986) (producer, director)
• Tottie: The Story of a Dolls' House (1984) (director, voiceover)
• Noggin the Nog colour version (1979) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)
• Ivor the Engine colour version (1975) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)
• Bagpuss (1974) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)
• The Clangers (1969) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)
• Little Laura (1968) (producer)
• Pogles' Wood (1965) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)
• The Seal of Neptune (1963) (creator)
• The Pingwings (1961) (writer, director, voiceover)
• Noggin the Nog (1959) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)
• Ivor the Engine (1958) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)

Britain's got talent shows

The finals of both BBC's and ITV's big talent shows were held tonight, battling for the Saturday night tv ratings. I'll Do Anything whittled down hundreds of auditionees to find the role of Nancy in the latest Cameron MacIntosh/Andrew Lloyd-Webber West End stage production of Oliver. Meanwhile ITV scoured the "talent" of the country to 10 final acts, in the most part all worthy of a spot on the Royal Variety Performance in Britain's Got Talent.

Now both shows are old fashioned variety, unlike "modern reality tv like Big Brother which starts it's 9th series in the UK on Thursday, but both are entertaining in their own way. Both ramp up the drama, all face-off's between the contestants and dramatic pauses. They are both ultimately voted for by the public (after lengthy audition stages by Lloyd Webber, Simon Cowell and co. I still can't past the fact though, that like karaoke, it's more fun watching the people who think they have talent than the ones that ultimately triumph.


I'll Do Anything finalists:





Winner: Jodie Prenger

Jessie Buckley
Sam Barks

Britain's Got Talent finalists:




Winner: George Sampson - dancer

Runners up:
Signature - comedy asian dancers
Andrew Johnston - dancer in shower

other finalists:
Andrew Muir - annoying young singer
Cheeky Monkeys - nauseous talent kiddie dancers
Escala - babe sting quartet
Faryl Smith - 12 year old amazing opera singer
Kate and Gin - amazing dancing dog (and owner)
Nemesis - urban dance group
Strike - more dancers

Most Mourned TV Shows

Communications company Tiscali has done a poll to find out the tv shows the country missed the most when they came to the end of their runs. The usual suspects are in there and it seems the point of them ending has been missed by those asked. Fawlty Towers and The Office finished when they were on top, Only Fools and Horses and Cheers had seen better days and do we really need any more Friends?

Most Mourned TV Shows:

1. Only Fools and Horses
2. Friends
3. Fawlty Towers
4. Cold Feet
5. Sex and the City
6. The Office
7. Cheers
8. The West Wing
9. The Sopranos
10. The OC

My top five would be:

1. Twin Peaks
2. Murder One
3. Dead Head
4. Black Adder
5. I'm Alan Partridge

What would you choose?

Rose c'Or European Television Awards

The winners annual awards celebrating the best of European television entertainment, held in Switzerland every year, has been another good year for British television. The 48th Rose d'Ors where held in Lucerne last night and Britain won five of the nine awards. Probably my favourite programme in the last 12 months, E4's Skins, won the best drama, beating Billie Piper's Secret Diary of a Call Girl, from ITV2, and BBC One's Jekyll. 402 programmes were nominated from 34 coiuntries.


:: Best drama:
Skins - E4/Company Pictures - UK
Special mention: The Street - BBC - UK

:: Arts Documentary:
Strictly Bolshoi - Ballet Boy Productions/Channel 4 - UK

:: Entertainment:
Hinder in the House - Eyework BV/BBC2 - Netherlands

:: Gameshow:
Power of 10 - Embassy Row/Sony Pictures Television - UK/USA

:: Performing Art:*
Mozart's The Magic Flute - TPC TV Productioncentre Zurich AG - Switzerland

:: Reality:
Celebrity Shock - Eyeworks BV - Netherlands

:: Comedy:
Kombat Opera presents... - Avalon Television/BBC - UK

:: Best Entertainer:
Peter Serainowicz - The Peter Serainowicz Show - BBC1 - UK

:: Sit-com:
The IT Crowd - Talkback Thames Limited/Channel 4 - UK


:: Honoury Golden Rose:
Ben Silverman - NBC Entertainment and Universal Studios co-chairman

The British Soap Awards 2008

Another awards ceremony was held in London last night, this time for that loftiest of television output, the continuing drama (that's Soap Opera to you and me). Now, I only really watch Eastenders, though Hollyoaks kind of gets viewed as I veg out after work (though that's been taken over by my daily Wii Fit workout!). I find Coronation Street too silly ( I haven't watched it for a long, probably since moving out from my parents *mumble mumble* years ago, and Ive never watched Doctors of Emmerdale.


Soaps are the kind of programme you can just turn off to, feel better about your own life and "know" what's going to happen and have the satisfaction of saying "I knew that was going to happen" but not knowing quite how. People can get very pretentious about "low brow" television but it has it's place. The same place in society as cheesy pop, The Sun newspaper and microwave ready meals. With such high brow categories as "Sexiest Female" and "Best Exit" these are their Oscars:

Voted by the viewers:

Sexiest Male:
Rob James -Collier (Liam Connor - Coronation Street)

Sexiest Female
Roxanne McKee (Louise Summers - Hollyoaks)

Villain Of The Year
Jack P. Shepherd (David Platt - Coronation Street)

Best Actor
Chris Fountain (Justin Burton - Hollyoaks)

Best Actress
Emma Rigby (Hannah Ashworth - Hollyoaks)


Panel voted categories:

Best Comedy Performance
Maggie Jones (Blanche Hunt - Cornation Street)

Best Dramatic Performance
Jo Joyner (Tanya Branning - Eastenders)

Spectacular Scene Of The Year
Hollyoaks: Claire drives her car off a cliff

Best Dramatic Performance From A Young Actor Or Actress
Jamie Borthwick (Jay Brown - Eastenders)

Best Single Episode
Emmerdale: Daniel’s Death

Best Exit
Gemma Bissix (Clare Cunningham - Hollyoaks)

Best Newcomer
Michelle Keegan (Tina McIntyre - Cornonation Street)

Best On-Screen Partnership
Matt Littler (Max Cunningham) & Darren Jon Jeffries (Sam OB O’Brien - Hollyoaks)

Best Storyline
EastEnders: Max and Stacey’s affair

Lifetime Achievement Award
Liz Dawn

Special Achievement Award
Tim Fee (Line producer on Emmerdale)

Best Soap
EastEnders

"Nice to see you...": The Television BAFTAs

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts held their annual awards for the best British television last night and the big winners were Harry Hill's TV Burp, a show that's been going for seven years and is now beating the "big" Saturday night reality shows such as I'll Do Anything in the ratings, and BBC Three sit-com Gavin and Stacey. The later won the only award voted for by the viewers, so it's done very well for a multi-channel show. Bruce Forsyth won the top prize of the BAFTA Fellowship in the year he turned 80, most of which he has spent on TV, with a recent resurgence due to Strictly Come Dancing.

Actor

Andrew Garfield - Boy A - Channel 4

Actress

Eileen Atkins - Cranford - BBC One

Entertainment Performance

Harry Hill - Harry Hill's TV Burp - ITV1

Comedy Performance

James Corden - Gavin and Stacey

Drama Series

The Street - BBC One/Granada Productions

Drama Serial

Britz

Continuing Drama

Holby City - BBC One/BBC Drama Productions

Factual series

The Tower: A Tale of Two Cities - BBC One/BBC Specialist

Factual

Andrew Marr’s History of Modern Britain - BBC Two/BBC

Features

Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares - Channel 4/ Optomen Television

Current affairs

China’s stolen children – a Dispatches special Channel 4/True Vision

News coverage

Sky News Glasgow Airport attack

Entertainment programme

Harry Hill's TV Burp - ITV1/Avalon Television Ltd

Comedy programme

Fonejacker - Channel 4/Hat Trick Productions Ltd

Situation comedy

Peep Show - Channel 4/Objective Productions

Sky+ Audience award for the Programme of the Year

Gavin & Stacey

BAFTA Fellowship

Bruce Forsyth

Coming of age: child stars who made it big

Today is the Harry Potter film's Hermione Granger, Emma Watson's 18th birthday (now she has access to the £10.5 million she's earned from the films). Happy Birthday Emma. What scares me (no not the films!) is that people born in the 1990's can legally buy alcohol in this country. It was also the last episode of the brilliant E4 drama Skins last night, one of the stars being About a Boy's Nicholas Hoult. This got me thinking about "child stars". These days there don't seem to be many boys who start off a promising career and go on to greater things, unless you count drug and booze hell "greater". Though Linsey Lohan is trying her worst to redress that balance.

Here's a list of some of the moppets who went on to forge a career long after they first appeared as fresh faced innocents and took on more adult roles:

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Emma Watson

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Turned 18 today. Still signed up for the future Potter films and also appeared on television in The Ballet Shoes.
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Nicholas Hoult

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The rather odd little boy in the adaptation of Nick Hornby's About A Boy alongside Hugh Grant. Went on to be the heart throb in the brilliant series Skins. Appeared in a few other film and TV roles, including Kidulthood.
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Natalie Portman

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Rose to fame as the prepubescent Mathilda in Leon (The Professional) and recently starred as Anne Boleyn in The Other Boleyn Girl (opposite another former child actress, Scarlett Johansson) via roles as a stripper and in the Star Wars prequels. A great actress in some stellar films, including Heat, Mars Attacks, Closer and V for Vendetta. Her stunning looks help.
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Drew Barrymore

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Went off the rails after her role in ET before sorting herself out and becoming a star in front and behind the camera. Hits include Charlie's Angels and Donnie Darko.

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Jodie Foster

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One of the most respected and talented actors of her generation, quirky roles as a youngster gave way to a shattering performance as a young prostitute in Taxi Driver, for which she won an Oscar nomination. She won Academy Awards for The Accused and Silence of the Lambs. A quality actress that doesn't toe the Hollywood glamorous line.

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Christian Bale

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Shot to fame brilliantly in Spielberg's The Empire of the Sun, is now the revamped Batman. A dark, brooding actor, prepared to take on some seriously dark roles (American Psycho for one).

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Leonardo DiCaprio

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Acted in a few TV shows including Rosanne and Parenthood before really making his mark with Robert De Niro in This Boy's Life and What's Eating Gilbert Grape, and via the biggest film ever, Titanic went on to take over as Scorsese's "muse" from De Niro. One of the biggest actors in the world today.

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Christina Ricci

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Quirky actress that has been in loads of films but has never quite hit the heights of her early hits such as Mermaids or The Addams Family.
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Anna Paquin

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An amazing start with The Piano shes gone on to play, amonst other things, a trouble mutant in the X-Men films.
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Claire Danes

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After a number of big films, including How to Make an American Quilt and Romeo + Juliet,(opposite DiCaprio) and even Terminator 3 she truly became a "star" in last years wonderful Stardust.
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Kirsten Dunst

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A number of small roles in movies such as Bonfire of the Vanities and TV like Star Trek: The Next Generation she really came to notice as a hundred year old vampire stuck in a child's body in Interview with a Vampire. Parts in Little Women (with Danes and Bale), Jumanji, The Virgin Suicides, Bring It On, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and most notably the Spiderman movies, she has become one of the biggest stars of her generation.

This list is missing out stars of yesteryear such as Mickey Rooney, Elizabeth Taylor and Judy Garland too. Also Haley Joel Osment hasn't really done anything of note since his child roles in Forrest Gump, Sixth Sense, AI and Pay It Forward. I could have included the other Harry Potter stars, especially Daniel Radcliffe, who's done very well for himself. And maybe I should have mentioned Macaulay Culkin too!

Despite their loviliness when grown up, I have decided not adding the "babes" tag to this post as it seems inapproriate.

10 English actors in American dramas

What's going on? Maybe it's cos they can do the accent? It seems that British actors are emmigrating to the USA to take over some of the biggest roles on US television. I'm sure they are being lured by the huge sums of money offered by dramas over the pond but not only are they getting some of the top jobs, they're also playing Americans, rather than the usual villain in previous years. this is without British comedies being remade for the States, such as The Office, Spaced and Little Britain. Or Simon Cowell, Nigell Lithgow and Piers Morgan being the faces of light entertainment.

This post has been inspired by the premier of Pushing Daisies on ITV this weekend. Staring the beautiful Anna Friel (right), it's like a Tim Burton-esque world, with the quirkiness of Amelie. Set in a technocolour Americana world, Friel's character, Chuck, starts the show dead, only to be revived by a childhood sweetheart, who has the ability to bring people back to life. They fall in love but there's a problem; if he touches her she will decend back to a non-living state. Bummer. This show has got great potential. High concept and a unique look, it could go one way or the other. Fingers crossed.

Anyway, back to the list, Brits on US TV. Well this lists is some of the most prominent roles taken by British actors on Americcan television, not always totally successfully (Michelle Ryan!):

Anna Friel - Chuck in Pushing Daisies

Hugh Laurie - Dr. Gregory House in House

Michelle Ryan - Jamie Sommers in The Bionic Woman

Dominic Monaghan and Naveen Andrews - Charlie Pace and Sayid Jarrah in Lost

Jane Leeves - Daphne Moon in Frasier

Joely Richardson - Julia McNamara in Nip/Tuck

Frances O'Connor - Zoe Burden in Cashmere Mafia (about to be aired in the UK)

Sophia Myles - Beth Turner in Moonlight (to be shown later in the year in the UK)

Minnie Driver - Dahlia Malloy in The Riches

Alex Kingston - Dr Elizabeth Corday in ER

Can Michelle Ryan rebuild her career after The Bionic Woman?

The Royal Television Society Awards 2008

::SITUATION COMEDY AND COMEDY DRAMA The Mighty Boosh
“…beautifully constructed and layered… and oozes originality on so many levels. It is a fresh and invigorating piece of high-concept comedy that has captured the imagination of its target [audience].”
::ENTERTAINMENT QI
“The jury described the winning show as a phenomenon – a Great British programme, incredibly old-fashioned but absolutely part of the zeitgeist. It’s the panel show that’s beyond a panel show.”
::SOAP AND CONTINUING DRAMA The Bill
“The jury felt that this series reflected the best of powerful contemporary drama - strong storylines, consistent scripts and good characters.”
::CHILDREN'S DRAMA My Life As A Popat - Evil Granny
“Sometimes bizarre, certainly unique but never dull – the winning programme is a children’s comedy that is genuinely funny.”
::CHILDREN'S PROGRAMME Serious Andes
“An empowering, moving, compelling and beautifully executed documentary that was truly engaging.”
::FORMATTED DOCUMENTARY Meet The Natives
“It’s rare… to find programmes that combine humour, warmth and a real sense of purpose so successfully. The characters were unforgettable and the insights into modern British life really stay with you.”
::HISTORY Andrew Marr's History Of Modern Britain
“A combination of wit, insight and scholarship were deployed to provide a fresh take on our recent past.”
::SCIENCE AND NATURAL HISTORY Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives
“Weaving together an emotional odyssey with an exploration of some of the most challenging front-line science was an audacious idea, but this film pulled it off magnificently.”
::OBSERVATIONAL DOCUMENTARY You're Not Splitting Up My Family
“Extraordinary and absolutely outstanding, a prime example of what documentary could – and should – do. Immensely compelling and very moving, the film gave viewers a profound insight into a process rarely, if ever, observed at such close quarters.”
::FEATURES AND LIFESTYLE SERIES Top Gear
“This series has continually reinvented itself, and the three presenters really are Three Men in a Boat for the 21st Century.”
::DAYTIME PROGRAMME Come Dine With Me
“A pioneering show for daytime, with refreshing, articulate characters, and great energy and pace.”
::NATIONS AND REGIONS PROGRAMME Boys Behind Bars (Scotland)
"Deserving of a prime network slot…, the winning programme combined amazing access with riveting stories and great characters.”
::PRESENTER Andrew Marr
“… combined wit, humour and intellectual rigour without a trace of stuffiness. A wonderful story teller, he bravely dispensed with interviews and in so doing invented a new kind of television essay.”
::DIGITAL CHANNEL PROGRAMME AWARD Fonejacker
“The winning show exemplifies what digital TV should be about; where talent can explode on to the scene from nowhere and rewrite what television can do.”
ARTS Genius Of Photography
“The jury praised the imaginative direction of the winning programme, which they said was intelligent, inspiring and a thoroughly enjoyable watch.”
::INTERNATIONAL AWARD Flight Of The Conchords
“…warm, fabulous, and one of the most surprising, fresh and original TV comedies to arrive in a long time.”
::DRAMA SERIAL Britz
“The jury found the boldness of this contemporary drama compelling. Riveting and brilliant, it held a mirror up to a life not often shown on screen.”
::SINGLE DRAMA Stuart: A Life Backwards
“This was a refreshing, exciting, inventive and unexpected film. With a great lightness of touch, a potentially bleak subject was treated with enormous affection, complexity and wit.”
::DRAMA SERIES The Street
“Fabulous writing that tackles big stories in an incredibly accessible way and delivers a compelling emotional hit every time.”
::ACTOR - MALE Matthew Macfadyen - Secret Life
“The jury was struck not only by the bravery but also by the complexity of this performance which left them torn between sympathy and loathing. … an utterly compelling performance.”
::ACTOR - FEMALE Sally Hawkins - Persuasion
“The jury felt that the winning actor brought an extraordinary depth and subtlety to a deceptively complex role, and re-told a familiar story in a brilliantly fresh performance.”
::WRITER - DRAMA Heidi Thomas - Cranford
“The writing literally shone through - dancing effortlessly between rich comic subtext and almost unbearable emotion. Idiosyncratic and tender, and yet hugely confident and bold.”
::WRITER - COMEDY Graham Linehan - The I.T. Crowd
"Skilful writing with dextrous word-play and great characterisation makes this a quick witted and superb show with universal appeal.”
::ENTERTAINMENT PERFORMANCE Harry Hill - Harry Hill's TV Burp Series
"The winning performer has masterfully moved his show from the edge to the heart of the schedule. His inventiveness and wit shine through a simple format in a unique way.”
::COMEDY PERFORMANCE David Mitchell and Robert Webb - Peep Show
“… the winners have grown into television’s most consummate comedy performers. Their characters are beautifully drawn and the two performers play brilliantly off each other.”

::LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD - Sir David Attenborough CH CVO CBE FRS
"...Inspiring millions with the wonders of nature, no one has contributed more to both broadcasting and the conservation of nature than Sir David Attenborough."

::Judges’ Award - Glenwyn Benson
"...one of the most influential figures in factual broadcasting over the last twenty five years... In a fast changing industry, Glenwyn is true to her convictions and remains steadfastly loyal to the audience. Glenwyn is rare indeed - driven purely by the need to serve the public."

South Bank Show Awards 2008

ITV's flagship arts programme, The South Bank Show, held their annual awards last night. Harry Potter author, JK Rowling was given the Outstanding Achievement Award and below are the other winners, which acknowledges achievement across the arts in the UK:

• Film - This Is England
• Comedy - Gavin and Stacey (BBC Three)
• TV Drama - The Mark of Cain (Channel 4)
• Theatre - Saint Joan at the National Theatre
• Pop - Arctic Monkeys: Favourite Worst Nightmare
• Literature - Mohsin Hamid: The Reluctant Fundamentalist
• Classical Music - Traced Overhead: The Musical World of Thomas Ades at the Barbican
• Visual Arts - Andy Goldsworthy at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park
• Opera- The Turn of The Screw at the ENO
• Dance -Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company: Programmes 1 and 2 at Sadler’s Wells
• Literature - Mohsin Hamid: The Reluctant Fundamentalist
• Arts Council England - decibel Award - Daljit Nagra: Look We Have Coming To Dover
• Outstanding Achievement Award - JK Rowling

Golden Globes 2008

Oops, it's been a while, Christmas, New Year and all that. SO, I must get into the swing of things for 2008 and what better way the the Golden Globes, the first of the big American entertainments awards season. The Golden Globe Awards are awarded for the best motion pictures and television programmes and normally run as a fundraiser by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Well, it wasn't so big this year. Due to the continuing writers strike in the US, none of the stars nominated would cross the picket lines, so instead of the usual glamorous Hollywood red carpet ceremony, the winners were announced in an extended telecast in Los Angeles. Still, there were some well deserved winners and plenty of British interest.

The gorgeous Keira Knightly in the best film, Atonement

Movie awards:

• Best film (drama) - Atonement
  Also nominated: American Gangster; Eastern Promises; The Great Debaters; Michael Clayton; No Country for Old Men; There Will Be Blood
• Best film (musical or comedy) - Sweeney Todd
  Also nominated: Across the Universe; Charlie Wilson's War; Hairspray; Juno
• Best director - Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
  Also nominated: Tim Burton - Sweeney Todd; Ethan Coen and Joel Coen - No Country for Old Men; Ridley Scott - American Gangster; Joe Wright - Atonement
• Best actor (drama) - Daniel Day Lewis - There Will Be Blood
  Also nominated: George Clooney - Michael Clayton; James McAvoy - Atonement; Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises; Denzel Washington - American Gangster
• Best actress (drama) - Julie Christie - Away from Her
  Also nominated: Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age; Jodie Foster - The Brave One; Angelina Jolie - A Mighty Heart; Keira Knightley - Atonement
• Best actor (musical or comedy) - Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd
  Also nominated: Ryan Gosling - Lars and the Real Girl; Tom Hanks - Charlie Wilson's War; Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Savages; John C Reilly - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
• Best actress (musical or comedy) - Marion Cotillard - La Vie en Rose
  Also nominated: Amy Adams - Enchanted; Nikki Blonsky - Hairspray; Helena Bonham Carter - Sweeney Todd; Ellen Page - Juno
• Best supporting actor - Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men
  Also nominated: Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford; Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War; John Travolta - Hairspray; Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton
• Best supporting actress - Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There
  Also nominated: Julia Roberts - Charlie Wilson's War; Saoirse Ronan - Atonement; Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone; Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton
• Best foreign language film - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (France and US)
  Also nominated: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Romania); The Kite Runner (US);Lust, Caution (Taiwan); Persepolis (France)
• Best animated feature film - Ratatouille
  Also nominated: Bee Movie; The Simpsons Movie
• Best screenplay - Ethan Coen and Joel Coen - No Country for Old Men
  Also nominated: Diablo Cody - Juno; Christopher Hampton - Atonement; Ronald Harwood - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly; Aaron Sorkin - Charlie Wilson's War
• Best original song - Guaranteed - Into the Wild
  Also nominated: Despedida - Love in the Time of Cholera; Grace is Gone - Grace is Gone; That's How You Know - Enchanted; Walk Hard - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
• Best original score - Dario Marianelli - Atonement
  Also nominated: Michael Brook, Kaki King, Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild; Clint Eastwood - Grace is Gone; Alberto Iglesias - The Kite Runner; Howard Shore - Eastern Promises

Ricky Gervais and a few guest stars in Extras

Television awards

• Television series - drama - Mad Men
• Performance by an actress in a television series - drama - Glenn Close - Damages
• Performance by an actor in a television series - drama - Jon Hamm - Mad Men
• Television series - comedy or musical - Extras
• Performance by an actress in a television series - comedy or musical -Tina Fey - 30 Rock
• Performance by an actor in a television series - comedy or musical - David Duchovny - Californication
• Miniseries or motion picture made for television - Longford
• Performance by an actress in a miniseries or motion picture made for television - Queen Latifah - Life Support
• Performance by an actor in a miniseries or motion picture made for television - Jim Broadbent - Longford
• Performance by an actress in a supporting role in a series, miniseries or motion picture made for television - Samantha Morton - Longford
• Performance by an actor in a supporting role in a series, miniseries or motion picture made for television - Jeremy Piven - Entourage

British Comedy Awards 2007

Gavin and Stacey, the cult BBC3 comedy, scooped three awards at last nights British Comedy Awards. It was over= shadowed by the fact that for the first time ITV didn't screen the ceremony live, due to rows that last year's event staged a viewer phone-in scandal. The audience was still asked to vote (on a premium rate phone line) even after the count was in and the winner decided.

This seems to have been a trend on British tv and radio. The BBC has suspended all competitions. Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, which was criticised for irregularities in their phon ins, won a couple of awards, though presenters Ant and Dec were again absent on the night.

• Television comedy actor - David Mitchell, Peep Show
• Television comedy actress - Liz Smith, The Royle Family: The Queen of Sheba
• Comedy entertainment personality - Simon Amstell, Never Mind the Buzzcocks
• Male comedy newcomer - James Corden, Gavin and Stacey
• Female comedy newcomer - Ruth Jones, Gavin and Stacey
• New British television comedy (scripted) - Gavin and Stacey
• Television comedy - Peep Show
• New comedy entertainment programme - Al Murray's Happy Hour
• Live stand-up - Alan Carr
• Comedy film - The Simpsons Movie
• The Writers' Guild Ronnie Barker Award - Simon Pegg
• British comedy lifetime achievement award - Stephen Fry

Some favourites from my childhood

Following on from yesterday's list (and me only having heard of about three of the children's BAFTA winners) it got me thinking about some of the tv programmes and films I loved as a kid. I'll try and include only the non-obvious and obscure and avoid Star Wars, which cam out at exactly the right age for me and made me realise that film could be more than Disney Real Life Adventures and that space didn't look just like Earth (Dr Who) or like a set from The Magic Roundabout (Star Trek).

This list is totally random, not a definitive list and in no particular order. It's just ones I've thought off the top of my head.

Ulysses 31 - Japanese/French sci-fi cartoon based on Homer's "Odyssey". Ulysses is banished to the furthest side of the Universe and has to travel back to Earth, break the curse on his spaceship crew (frozen via Hades, facing monsters after killing the cyclops whilst saving his kids. All sorts of space monsters (Greek Gods) were battled and adventures ensued, with the help of what I still think is the coolest little robot in science fiction: the tiny red No-No, who made a funny noise when he ran around. From memory the animation was better than most cartoons around at the time. Really exciting and quite different. Mad theme tune too!

Return to Witch Mountain - Disney caper. I have no idea what happened but I missed then going to Witch Mountain the first time. This was an adventure about a brother and sister, Tony and Tia from outer space with special psycho-kinetic powers. Bette Davies and Christopher Lee were the baddies and they kidnap Tony to use his powers for a bank robbery or something, controlling him through hypnosis. Tia meets a street gang of young scamps who spend the film trying to rescue the brother.

As in all Disney films of it's ilk, all but one of the adults are baddies, the main villains, the truancy bloke trying to get the street urchins into school etc. The effects were probably terrible: people being levitated into the air by the power of the kids minds, and the like, but I thought it was cool enough for me to buy (and read!) the book. It stared those two kids who seemed to be in everything (Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards). And it inspired many a playground game. Oh, how I wanted powers like that! I think I saw a clip on Screen Test and had to see it!

Battle of the Planets - Americanised version of the Japanese Gatchaman, BotP was just cool. Five kids with special powers fighting the evil Zoltan from thr planet Spectra, as G-Force the gang had a spaceship that could turn into the Fiery Phoenix for some reason and they made a human pyramid and spun around , that increased their powers or something. I never really knew what was going on but it was great. This was probably due to the fact that the American version was censored, with all the violent bits deemed fine of Japanese kids was too much for the English speaking world and were replaced by a robot in a space station giving G-Force advice. Another playground favourite. And everyone tried to do the Keyop voice! I used to fancy Princess too!

Glitterball - From the Children's Film Foundation, makers of many memorable Saturday morning films. A group of kids help a sentient silver ball (think Phantasm without the spikes) escape scientists looking to harness its power and go back into space where it came from. A magical big ball-baring, really. The alien ball is scared and lost but so realises the children are there to help. This was made before Spielberg's ET. Kids chase adults and magic helps them out again, I guess I liked these kind of stories. I read the book of this too. See, watching TV inspires reading!

The Amazing Cosmic Awareness of Duffy Moon - I really don't remember too mu8ch about this except the phrase "You can do it Duffy Moon, you can do it" repeated over and over. It was something about a little kid who was bullied but through the power of positive thinking could do things he never thought possible. Like running faster, getting the girl and growing taller! Funny the things you remember. (Also starred Ike Eisenmann, told you he was in everything).

Alarm in the Danube Delta - East German morning kids TV serial about a coule of kids in canoes. Apart from the bad dubbing that's all I remember. But the reason I remember it is cos me and my brother used to play at being the two boys on a boating lake one summer holiday.

Red Hand Gang - kids versus adults again. Solving crimes. The oldies won't believe these urchins but they always save the day in the end. Each kid had a quirk and specialism that helped out, like a young A-Team! I'm sure one of the stories was about a monkey who could communicate with sign language... maybe.

Press Gang - This came a bit later but a great comedy drama about the workings of a school newspaper. the straight-laced editor (played by Julia Sawalha - who I fancied at the time too!) was always battling to keep the paper running, keep the staff in check and keep the stories true. The attentions of Dexter Fletcher, the American schoolkid who she couldn't stand/fancied the pants off didn't help.

Children's BAFTA's

The British Academy Film and Television Awards for Children where held this weekend. Boy I'm getting old cos most of these I've never heard of. A future list should be, I think, is film and TV I loved as a kid!

Pokoyo

• Drama - That Summers Day - Production Company: Hat Trick Productions
• Entertainment - The Slammer - CBBC
• Animation -The Secret Show - Collingwood O'Hare Entertainment
• Factual - The Wrong Trainers - CBBC
• International - Spongebob Squarepants - United Plankton Pictures Inc for Nickelodeon
• Pre-School Animation - Pocoyo - Granada Kids/Zinkia Entertainment/Cosgrove Hall Films
• Feature Film - Happy Feet
• Pre-School Live Action - In the Night Garden - Ragdoll Productions
• Presenter - Barney Harwood
• Interactive -The Secret Show (website) - Complete Control
• Writer - Charlie and Lola - Tiger Aspect Productions
• Short Form - Nick Big Green Thing - Nickelodeon UK
• Learning Secondary - Recollections: Eyewitnesses Remembering the Holocaust - Holocaust Trust/Picture Production Company
• Learning Primary - Espresso Education: Espresso Primary -Espresso Education
• Breakthrough Talent - My Life as a Popat -Feelgood Fiction
• Video Game - Buzz! Junior: Jungle Party (PS2) - SCEE External Development Studio
• The BAFTA Kids' Vote Sponsored by Electronic Arts - The Simpsons Movie
• BBC me and my movie Sponsored by BAFTA - The Unwelcome Stranger - Rosalind (aged 14, Norfolk)

Just not funny

Comedy is a funny thing. It seems more polarising than taste in music. What one person has them rolling around holding their sides leaves others cold and wondering what all the fuss is about. After a lot of fanfare, hyping up by various dj's on the radio and friends recommendations, the new series of The Mighty Boosh started on tv last night. I thought I'd give it another try and I thought it was terrible.

The Mighty Boosh is a surreal comedy with Noel Fielding and Julian Barrett and their "magical" adventures, meeting an odd assortment of freaks and weirdos along the way, with an "amusing" tune, or two, thrown in for good measure. Now, I can handle surreal (I love Vic and Bod, Monty Python, Terry Gilliam movies etc) but The Boosh is just purile, unfunny and seems like it's trying too hard. I even find Noel Fielding to be very funny (and clever) when he's interviewed or is on comedy panel game shows. It seems to be one of those shows that gets away with it because it's a cult that you're supposed to like and if you don't get it there must be something wrong with it.

But sometimes I think I don't have a sense of humour cos I don't find things that so many people seem to rave about. Well, yaboo, I'm stating that The Mighty Boosh sucks big time and as I've written that on the Internet it is officially true, so there.

Things I don't find funny that others think are hilarious:

• The Mighty Boosh
• The League of Gentlemen
• Red Dwarf
• Adam Sandler
• Will Farrell
• Woody Allen
• Sideways
• Avid Merrion and Bo Selecta
• Rob Brydon comedies
• Chubby Brown
• Lee Evans
• Bernard Manning
• Joe Pasquale

I better stop there, I'm in a ranting mood and this list could get huge! And it's the BBC's Children in Need tonight but I can't say that cos it raises so much money (but it does ruin a Friday evening's worth of tv every year).

National Television Awards

Last night was the National Television Awards, held at the Albert Hall in London. Despite the recently revelation of phone rigging on many tv programmes premium phone lines, including Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, programmes involved in the scandal did quite well. Maybe the voting was rigged.

• Most popular reality programme - I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
• Most popular actress - Lacey Turner - EastEnders
• Most popular factual programme - Top Gear
• Most popular newcomer - Kym Ryder - Coronation Street
• Most popular drama - Doctor Who
• Most popular entertainment presenter - Ant and Dec
• Most popular actor - David Tennant - Doctor Who
• Most popular comedy programme - The Catherine Tate Show
• Most popular entertainment programme - Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
• Most popular talent show - The X Factor
  Most popular serial drama - EastEnders
  Special recognition award - Jeremy Clarkson - Top Gear